I recently posted a list of open questions for the ISOCPR (Internet Society of Puerto Rico). As a supporter of using Internet technology to improve our lives, I wanted to find out what exactly the ISOCPR was involved with.

After landing on the "About Us" page, I was quickly able to identify the documented Mission & Objectives. However, I wanted to drill down a bit deeper and get beyond those more abstract statements.

I directed my list of questions to all members of the Board of Directors (via email) with the intention of getting down to the slightly more granular level of "What is the ISOCPR in a Nutshell?".

Chapter President, Eduardo Diaz, responded within 24 hours requesting my contact info to find out who I was and have a discussion. However, since I write anonymously here as "The Insider", he respected my wishes to conduct our communications electronically (via email) while maintaining my anonymity. My role in the communications would be much like that of any anonymous Internet user requesting information about the ISOCPR.

ISOCPR works mainly with highly regarded professionals well known within their industry, participating in the role of speakers/presenters. Therefore, I commend Mr. Diaz for his willingness to break out of that more standard mode to communicate directly with a blogger, and also for taking the time to provide responses to many of the questions I posted. Diaz's responses were published on the ISOCPR website here.

I posted 10 questions. The ISOCPR provided responses for all but questions 4 & 5 which were related to membership demographics & speaking event attendees. I encourage you to check out my original questions (as a reference) and also to see the ISOCPR's responses.

I'll summarize the highlights of the answers here:

• They see members more as "partners" in the promotion of the Internet, rather than those simply seeking service from the organization.
• The free monthly events available to members are the biggest ROI (return on investment) for members.

  • Note: Many events require entry fees for non-members. What members do with the information they get access to at events certainly has the possibility (if leveraged correctly) to provide a huge ROI.

• They use the success metric of the number of requests for input in which they receive & provide feedback.

  • Note: This would create a great opportunity to request testimonials and/or more detailed case studies from members who received assistance and make direct improvements using the knowledge obtained.

• Diaz referred to their top success stories as their participation with the "Comunidades Especiales” project (link in Spanish), under Law 219 "Act to Reduce the Digital Divide in Puerto Rico" (August 20th, 2004), in which they helped more than 49 communities establish a Web presence.

  • Note: 95 youth and 35 community leaders achieved a "Certificate in Foundations of Technology".

• They are non-profit, with no paid staff, and use membership fees solely for ISOCPR promotions and speaking events, etc.
• They feel they need greater funding in order to acquire staff to help further achieve their objectives.
• Regarding the standouts from the recent Puerto Rico gubernatorial candidates, they applauded all candidates for expressing their commitment to using the Internet as a tool within the government; with particular notice for Rogelio Figueroa for his success in using the Internet to establish his party status.

In my original blog entry, I briefly critiqued the ISOCPR website regarding it's usability/navigation in particular. However, one positive observation is that they are using the freely available Joomla CMS ("Content Management System" or simply "Web publishing software").

Joomla has a great price for the license (i.e. free, open source), and allows for quick setup by any person will average level Internet tech skills. The usability and navigation issues I mentioned can be corrected quite easily by updating the design/structure of the site (while still using Joomla).

Now this is very refreshing considering communities like Caguas are taking a shot at using more advanced systems like the SAP Netweaver Portal that really (overall) aims to do too much, requires licensing fees, and requires more (and more advanced) technical resources to setup, integrate, and maintain.

Regardless of the usability issues, ISOCPR responded to my emails within 24 hours and had a response to my questions posted on their website within a few days (as promised). A low cost, simple solution, that allowed them to be very responsive.

My final comment is that your membership fee to ISOCPR will likely provide an ROI for you, even if you only take advantage of attending a few of their events.

However, as a member you should plan to do the following:

1. Ask direct & specific questions when you have them.
2. Let them know what type of speakers would be most valuable to you for the future.

If you do not provide them with your feedback, their effectiveness in helping you make better use of the Internet is going to be reduced. If they have already helped you, please send them your testimonial or more detailed case study for publication. Describe how they helped you, what action you took based on their recommendations, and what the final results were. Post your comments here, or send them directly to the ISOCPR team.

The Insider